Newcastle United strengthened their push for a Champions League spot in the absence of unwell boss Eddie Howe with a crushing win over Manchester United at St James’ Park.
Howe was admitted to hospital on Friday having felt unwell for a number of days.
Assistants Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones took charge against United and the players responded with a fine performance as they recorded a first league double over their opponents since the 1930-31 campaign.
United boss Ruben Amorim dropped first-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana after his two mistakes against Lyon in Thursday’s 2-2 Europa League quarter-final first-leg draw, but replacement Altay Bayındır was guilty of a serious error to seal an easy home win.
The Turkey international clipped a ball straight to Joelinton who headed into the path of Bruno Guimaraes to make it 4-1 in the 77th minute.
By then, though, Newcastle were in complete command.
They were the better side from the first minute to the last and opened the scoring when Alexander Isak’s lobbed pass over the visiting defence ended with Sandro Tonali finding the net.
Italy midfielder Tonali went close to doubling the lead from distance, while Bayındır did well to deny Isak, before Manchester United equalised against the run of play.
Alejandro Garnacho kept his composure eight minutes before the break to shoot beyond Nick Pope for his side’s first goal in three top-flight games.
But Newcastle moved up to fourth spot – just a point behind third-placed Nottingham Forest – when Harvey Barnes put the game out of reach with two second-half goals.
After tapping home Jacob Murphy’s pass across the six-yard area to make it 2-1 in the 49th minute, Barnes produced a ruthless finish 15 minutes later after a slip by Noussair Mazraoui. Bayindir’s howler just compounded United’s misery on Tyneside.
United, who lost Joshua Zirkzee to a suspected hamstring injury, dropped below Everton on goal difference to 14th in the table – and just three points off fourth-bottom West Ham – after a 10th defeat in 21 Premier League games under Ruben Amorim.
Man Utd hit rock bottom under Amorim
Amorim has experienced some difficult days since taking charge of Manchester United last October.
This was right up there as his side showed little fight on their way to another defeat in what has been a thoroughly miserable season.
Amorim’s side have now won just two of their past nine top-flight games and will finish the campaign with their lowest points total in the Premier League era.
The problems are mounting for the Portuguese boss, who gave a first senior start to 18-year-old defender Harry Amass, but he was taken off in the 55th minute.
Amorim decided to take Onana out of the firing line after his poor showing in France, but back-up Bayindir endured a game to forget on Sunday.
United, who are not mathematically safe from relegation with six games left and a 17-point gap to third-bottom Ipswich Town, must re-group quickly with a season-defining game to come in the return leg against Lyon on Thursday at Old Trafford.
United must win the Europa League to qualify for Europe next season but, after this humiliation against Newcastle, they face a tough task to get the job done against the French outfit, with the quarter-final evenly poised at 2-2 from the first leg.
BBC Sports
